Unbeknownst to many people involved in the movement to eliminate drugs in racing, a couple of months ago I lessened my involvement because I had become discouraged with the progress of the proposed federal legislation sponsored by Congressmen Andy Barr and Paul Tonko. Sparking my change in direction was an impassioned talk delivered by harness […]

Absent a smoking gun that would lead to evidence of unethical behavior on the part of Joe Gorajec, the dismissal of the former executive director of the Indiana Racing Commission sends the wrong message to regional and national participants in horse racing. The reason the commissioners gave for firing the director was that they wanted […]

When an American trainer, with some notable exceptions, wins a Triple Crown race, peers, fans and writers invariably shake their heads and question whether the triumph was accomplished on the up and up. This has been going on with increasing frequency for the last several years. Conversely, when an English or Irish or French trainer […]

Kentucky-bred Tyson Gay—the fastest human sprinter of all time behind only Usain Bolt—rocked the athletics world when it was revealed last month that he had tested positive for a banned substance. Gay was not alone, as during this same time period Veronica Campbell Brown and Asafa Powell—two of the fastest and most accomplished international human […]

Barry Irwin, the founder and CEO of Team Valor International, has been an outspoken advocate for elimination of race-day medication in North America. In the following commentary, Irwin explains why it is important for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association not to abandon its proposal to have all American Graded Stakes for 2-year-olds run without […]

I received an e-mail last week from Alex Waldrop, head of the NTRA. In it, Alex briefly described his trip to Japan where he observed top-class international racing first hand. He then went into a narrative about the glories of international racing and how it behooved United States racing interests to concentrate more on what […]